The general idea of eradicating animal pests in this fashion is not new, and is taught for example in Wojcik U.S. Pat. No. 1,353,882 and numerous latter patents. Rodents are not unintelligent, and have strong survivial instincts and rapid reaction times. To be successful a trap of this kind must operate quickly, with little physical forwarning, must be constructed to provide no alternative egress path for the rodent, and should operate with so little noise as not to frighten away nearby rodents while a first is being entrapped.